MCQ Detailed View

The surface of the Moon is not smooth or clean but instead covered with a layer of very fine dust and broken rock fragments known as regolith. This regolith has formed over billions of years due to continuous bombardment by meteoroids, comet particles, and solar radiation.

When meteoroids strike the Moon’s surface, they shatter rocks and create craters. Because the Moon has no atmosphere, no wind, and no water, the debris from these impacts remains where it falls. Over time, repeated collisions crush rocks into smaller and smaller particles, producing a soft, powdery dust. This mixture of dust, crushed rock, and tiny glass particles from high-speed impacts is what we call regolith.

The other given options are incorrect:

• 
  

  Gegolith: This term does not exist in planetary science.

  
  


• 
  

  Megolith: Refers to large stone structures on Earth, unrelated to lunar dust.

  
  


• 
  

  None of the above: Incorrect because the scientifically recognized term is regolith.

  
  

Lunar regolith varies in thickness depending on the location. In older highland regions, it can be 10–15 meters deep, while in newer volcanic plains (mare regions), it may only be a few meters thick. The dust particles are extremely fine, similar to talcum powder, but they are jagged and sharp due to lack of weathering. This makes them cling strongly to spacesuits and equipment, as reported by Apollo astronauts.Regolith plays an important role in astronomy and planetary science because it preserves the Moon’s geological history. Scientists study lunar regolith to learn about past meteor impacts, solar wind interactions, and the chemical composition of the Moon’s crust. Future space missions may even use lunar regolith for building materials and oxygen extraction, making it a key resource for future lunar exploration.

Thus, the fine dust layer covering the Moon’s surface is scientifically called regolith.